22 THE WEEKEND NEOS KOSMOS | SATURDAY 25 JUNE 2016 Professor Frank Sear takes us back to the glory Greece was Emeritus Professor Frank Sear A six-week course by University of Melbourne traces the development of Greek art from its beginnings in the Geometric Period to the Classical perfection of the 5th century BC NELLY SKOUFATOGLOU World-renowned architectural historian and former Chair of Classics at the University of Melbourne Emeritus Professor Frank Sear is currently presenting a short course on the history of Greek art and architecture. The program looks at the dawn of Greek civilisation from the Ancient Dark Ages, all the way to the Hellenistic period. Professor Sear has already taken us on a journey touching on the highlights of the Geometric period, the evolution of black-figure pottery and archaic Greek sculpture, the Greeks' "strive after perfection". The next courses will follow how Greek art changed in the 4th century BC and the radical transformations which occurred as a result of the conquests of Alexander the Great. Having led numerous archaeological tours in Italy, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, Egypt, North Africa, Spain, and France, Professor Sear will focus on the influence of the Greek world at the time, which extended over the whole eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. He has also published a number of books on archaeological research which include Roman Wall and Vault Mosaics, Roman Architecture and Roman Theatres: an architectural study. Meanwhile, Pro- fessor Sear was Co-director of the Australian Pompeii Project from 1978 to 1988, and since 1990 has directed the Australian Roman Theatres project, which involved surveying the theatres at Gubbio, Taormina, Benevento, and Pompeii in Italy, Jerash in Jordan, and Orange in France. In his busy schedule he took the time to answer some of Neos Kosmos' questions. What was it about the ancient Greek art and architecture that made you want to delve into it in the first place? I became very interested in Greek architecture when I was still at school although I had never been to Greece. The   Trade in your unwanted diamond and gold jewellery for cash or remake it into something new! thought that a society that flourished two and a half millenia ago could build temples of such perfection in a material as difficult to work as marble greatly impressed me. I also liked the way a Greek temple grew so organically from the ground, unlike Roman temples which were imposed upon it. Greek temples look wonderful the way they sit so naturally on a hillside (Segesta in Sicily) or on top of a rock like the Acropolis at Athens. It is said that the arts reflect the society that creates them. How have the ancient Greeks implemented arête in their temples, sculpture, and pottery? Greek art and architecture both strive after what the Greeks regarded as perfection. Each generation tried to improve on the last. The Greeks being a seafaring nation were always prepared to innovate and take risks. They were adventurous in art as well as everything else. Nothing was static. For that reason they went far beyond contemporary civilisations in terms of innovation. That is why we owe them so many of the things we take for granted today, such as history, philosophy, geometry, tragedy, comedy, etc. It must also be remembered that they laid the foundations for the whole of western art as we know it. Connie Lalos & Anna Georgelos are here to help you. 65 TOORAK ROAD, SOUTH YARRA PH 03 9866 4983 www.iansharp.com.au What made the Mycenaean culture disappear and how did that affect the then Greek world until the Golden century of Pericles? There are various theories for the fall of Mycenaean civilisation. I myself am attracted to the idea of an invasion, perhaps by the Dorians. This seems to be borne out by the dialect pattern across the Greek world following the Dark Ages. After the Dark Ages the Greeks had to pretty well start again from scratch and it took them a long time before they began to rival the achievements of the Mycenaeans. However they went about things logically and made great advances starting in the 8th century BC, a time when there was a growing awareness that they were Greeks and everyone else were 'barbarians' - an onomatopoetic term which reflects how the Greeks perceived the speech of others. It is no coincidence that the 8th century BC saw the start of the Olympic games, the re-introduction of writing, the beginnings of the city-state, and the exploration of the Mediterranean, which resulted in the Greek colonial movement and the establishment of so many cities in South Italy and Sicily that it became known as Magna Gracia or Great Greece. Which is the most fascinating aspect of the Hellenistic period? The most fascinating aspect of Hellenistic period is in my view their town planning, which was remarkable. Look at Pergamon, Priene, and Lindos on Rhodes. Can you give us a few examples of ancient Greek architecture influence in other civilisations in the modern world? Greek architecture was for a long time not as influential as Roman because Europeans rarely travelled in Ottomancontrolled Greece. However in the 18th and early 19th centuries there was a Greek revival which flourished mainly in England, Scotland, Germany, and the US. An obvious ex- ample is the British Museum in London. There are practically no examples of Greek revival in Melbourne which developed long after the Greek revival ended, but there is one in Sydney, a copy of the Choregic monument of Lysicrates of Athens in the Botanic Gardens. Each session taking place at the Macmahon Ball Theatre (Old Arts Building, University of Melbourne, Parkville) includes two 50-minute evening lectures with Q&A and a break with light refreshments. Course handouts and further reading material will be available throughout the duration of the course. The cost per session for Uni- versity of Melbourne alumni, staff and students and members of Humanities 21 is $45 and $55 for non-alumni. To register go to www.alumni.online.unimelb.edu.au/sc-greekart2016 AVAILABLE COURSES: • Experiments in building: Greek Doric and Ionic architecture in the 7th and 6th centuries BC on Wednesday 9 June 6.15–8.30 pm • The mastery of form: Greek pottery and sculpture in the 5th century BC on Wednesday 6 July 6.15–8.30 pm • Athens in the Classical period: Sculpture and architecture in the 4th century BC on Wednesday 13 July 6.15– 8.30 pm • The new Greek world afterAlexander the Great: The Hellenistic period on Wednesday, 20 July 6.15– 8.30 pm DIGITAL.NEOSKOSMOS.COM 48189